A system and method are provided for determining one or more characteristics of a device. The system and method comprises initiating an algorithm to correct for shift and drift of a reference catheter (203), determining an initial shape and position of a portion of the reference catheter at time 0 when the algorithm is initiated (201), determining a current shape and position of the portion of the reference catheter at time t after the algorithm has been initiated (205), calculating a closest fit of the current shape and position of the portion of the reference catheter to the initial shape and position of the portion of the reference catheter by iteratively adjusting a set of solution parameters (209), and determining a minimal error solution parameter (211).
